Eyes Like A Tiger's
by Raberba girl
Summary: The citizens of Agrabah are getting creeped out by those weird X-shapes in the doorways. Jasmine finally finds out where they're coming from. Saïx/Jasmine.
1. Eyes Like A Tiger's

Eyes Like A Tiger's

A Kingdom Hearts fanfic series by Raberba girl

Summary: Collection of ficlets and one-shots focusing on Saïx & Jasmine, though not always in a romantic context. Includes AUs.

Introduction: Around the time Kiryn got me interested in the Terra/Cinderella pairing, Saïx/Jasmine was also mentioned in passing. I don't think the latter was meant to be taken seriously the way the former was, but it caught my fancy anyway.

Even though I have lots of other, far more important projects to be focusing on, I wrote this first drabble and figured it couldn't hurt to post. I vaguely plan for this series to have at least seven installments, which is when I'll slap a "Complete" label on it, but if I get any other Saïx/Jasmine ideas, I'll just add them onto the end as new "chapters."

It occurred to me, RIGHT as I was first uploading this to FFN, that there's a "Forgotten Couples" challenge out there that Saïx/Jasmine might qualify for. Unfortunately, I can't find the original challenge, but if I can somehow get hold of the rules and prompt list and decide to take it on, it won't be until after I finish one or two of my current challenges in progress. I'll just stick with my seven-chapter idea in the meantime, or if the challenge doesn't work out.

**1 - Eyes Like A Tiger's**

Summary: The girl is a Princess of Heart, of course she's going to be nice to the weirdo in the suspicious black coat who's been creeping around her city.

o.o.o

Saïx was in Agrabah, preparing it for the mission he was going to assign Roxas the next day. He had already set out the treasure chests and recorded the Heartless types, making a note to warn about an abundance of Fire Plants in the mission brief. He was in the middle of setting up a barricade when he realized that his cover had been blown.

"Hello."

Saïx gave an annoyed sigh, then ignored the greeting and continued working.

"...Perhaps you're new in town and don't know this, but my name is Jasmine. My father is the ruler of this kingdom."

"You honor me with your presence, Your Highness," Saïx said without bothering to turn around. He affixed a barricade line to the ground and then reached up again, summoning another chain of non-existence to intersect with the first.

"I should probably thank you," the voice went on. She sounded less grateful and more like she was demanding to be paid attention to. "We've been wondering for a while now what those odd crossed shapes are. They keep appearing out of nowhere, filling doorways or gateways, but it's like they're not even there - people can just walk straight through them."

_'Obviously,'_ Saïx thought. _'If they're made of nothing, they cannot bar the way of beings who actually exist.'_

"Then they disappear again a day or two later. It's good to finally have an explanation. Even the less superstitious of us have been getting uneasy."

_'Just go away,'_ he thought, completely uninterested in her chatter._ 'There's so much work to do.'_

"Why _are_ you putting up those strange things, anyway?"

"Don't you have repairs to make or sand to sweep up?" he said, retrieving his backpack and moving on to the next area that needed to be sealed off.

"I'm bringing refreshment to the workers. I wonder if that includes you." She was starting to sound a little fed up, which likely explained the mischievous note that was creeping into her voice. Saïx had grown up with Axel. He was well aware that such a tone always meant trouble - people who were bored and/or annoyed seemed to have an inexplicable fondness for teasing him. Gritting his teeth, he turned to face the princess for the first time.

... Close up, she was quite beautiful. Not that he had any means left to appreciate concepts such as beauty, but he was still able to acknowledge them. Her hair shone as glossy as a raven's wing, clearly well-cared for. Well, she was a princess, after all. Not surprising that she would stand out in this world full of far too many grubby commoners. Her dark skin glowed like copper in the bright sunlight, great swaths of it exposed in a way that was a little overwhelming for someone grown accustomed to seeing people clad in Organization coats. Not that this particular viewer _could_ get overwhelmed, but...in theory.

The princess was regarding him appraisingly as she stood with a clay jar resting in the crook of her arm. "You seem to be working hard, but as far as I can tell, you're not really doing anything useful."

"I'm certain that our definitions of 'useful' differ significantly in this instance." He paused a little mockingly, as if thinking. "Though perhaps you might agree with me that decreasing the Heartless population here could be of some use to both of us."

"So mysterious," she said challengingly. "Just like the face that must be hidden under that hood of yours. Care to enlighten me?"

"I have better things I need to be doing with my time." He drew forth another length of non-existence.

"...In any case, I'm sure it's difficult to slave away in the hot sun while dressed in that ridiculous outfit. You must be cooking to a crisp in there."

Exaggeration and figures of speech aside, she was completely correct. However, it was none of her business, and it shouldn't have any effect on his mission. He had long ago learned how to work through such discomfort.

"Would you like a drink of water?"

Saïx paused. He would, actually. His own water bottle had developed a leak when that Heartless had ambushed him, and had been bone-dry since midmorning. The Hi-Potions he had equipped could substitute, but his supply of them was very finite, and their healing properties might be needed later on.

"A simple yes or no will be fine," she said, sounding a little amused. Saïx realized that he had been standing there without moving for too long.

"Yes," he finally said. "I would appreciate a drink of water."

She hefted the jar up. "Here."

He made as if to take the jar from her, but she kept a firm hold on it, allowing him to steady the jar with his hands but not letting go herself. It robbed him of an independent stance, which he was sure was fully intentional on her part.

As the cool water filled his parched mouth, he felt his hood slipping and the touch of this world's harsh sunshine on his face. As soon as he had had his fill, he let go of the jar and stepped back, drawing up the hood again even as he wondered why he was bothering. It wasn't like she would be able to forget seeing a strange man with long blue hair and very distinctive facial scars.

Her mouth had come open a little in surprise. With her eyes still fixed on him, she set down the jar and stepped close, reaching toward him.

_'Don't,'_ he wanted to say. Yet it would make him sound helpless, and again, he had no reason now to continue to hide his face from her. He did not resist when she pushed back his hood.

"Oh," she said softly.

_'I must look so strange to her.'_

Her expression broke into a smile. "You have such pretty eyes! Just like my pet tiger's."

_'...What?'_

"His name is Rajah. I should bring you to meet him one of these days."

"That...won't be necessary," Saïx managed.

Jasmine smiled again and stepped back, leaving his hood down. "Don't worry. He doesn't hurt my friends. You _are_ a friend of mine, aren't you?"

What was he supposed to do, say no and incur hostile attention from the locals every time he had to come here to set up future missions? "...Yes."

"Of course you are. Though I never got your name, friend."

"My name is of no consequence."

"Oh. I see. Then I suppose I can just introduce you as Kitten Eyes. I think that's a cute nickname."

"Saïx," he said quickly. "My name is Saïx."

Jasmine gave him a wink. "Well, Saïx, I hope to see you around again soon. I'll be sure to have Rajah with me."

"Don't bother. I'm really more of a...dog person."

"Oh, that's all right. Rajah's very nice, he'll forgive you. Probably."

Well, it looked like he was never going to be able to let Xigbar, Axel, or Demyx come here for missions ever again. If any of them got wind of this whole business...

"I'd better finish making my rounds," she realized. "It was nice to meet you, Saïx."

"Thank you for the water," he sighed.

"It was the least I could do for a brave Heartless-slayer, hm?" She gave him a little wave as she left. She really was a pretty girl. Good thing he didn't have a heart to get distracted with.

"...Now, where was I?" Barricades. One more left to go. Saïx got back to work, not realizing that he was smiling a little.


	2. Within Music

_**Eyes Like A Tiger's**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanfic series by Raberba girl**

**2 - Within Music (rough draft)**

Summary: Saïx and Jasmine don't have much to pass the time with as they wait to be rescued.

A/N: There is a story behind this fic, but it's too complicated, so I won't bother right now. All I'll say is that this plunny occurred to me, and I ended up writing it instead of the SaiAku Day fic I was _supposed_ to be working on. :p And that **THIS IS AN AU, if for no other reason than because I don't want Jasmine ever actually kissing Sai when she's supposed to be with Aladdin.** *sweatdrop* I've decided to use this series to take on Cherished Tenshi's Forgotten Couples challenge, but not officially yet; this is just a semi-random SaiJaz drabble.

o.o.o

He never felt frustration anymore, but there were certain situations that made it _very_ easy to remember what the emotion had been like. "If it just wouldn't _give_ so much," he said in slightly less of a monotone than usual, "we would have been out of here within minutes." He tossed his useless claymore aside in disgust, giving up on trying to strike it against the cloud-like material that enclosed them. "It would _have_ to be this world, wouldn't it..."

He had never had a fondness for this odd place, full of music and vibrant colors and mythological beings and a distinct lack of adherence to the laws of physics. He was now starting to decide that if he still had a heart, he would hate it. "I assure you, Princess, I am not usually this incompetent. I'm starting to think that such close proximity to my subordinates these last few days have had an adverse effect on me-"

He - almost - remembered what it was like to be startled when he felt her small hands on his shoulders. "It's not your fault we ended up in a situation you can't save me from."

"Yes, it is," he said shortly. He should have been prepared for anything, like he always was. But now he and the Princess of Heart under his protection were trapped _inside a measure of sheet music_, separated from their partners, with no safe way to escape. "...What are you doing?"

"Trying to distract you," she said in a amused tone as she continued binding his hair into a loose braid. She looped it up at the back of his head and secured it with a long, narrow Blizzard Shard she had apparently picked up from one of the slain Heartless. "There. Doesn't that feel nice?"

"...It will eventually get cold in here again."

"Then you can take your hair down, and when it gets warm again I'll put it back up for you."

"Don't bother. We need to be concentrating on much less trivial matters, anyway." He opened a dark corridor.

"No," she said sharply.

"Don't insult me." He had thought it was clear by now that her safety was one of his highest priorities during this horrendously extended mission. He was already unzipping his coat - the way she watched him do it made him suddenly uncomfortable, so he turned away to finish and then pulled his arms free of it.

She seemed to realize what he was doing as he turned back and laid it over her shoulders. "I told you, _no_."

He gripped the zippered edges tightly together to prevent her from flinging it off. "As I've said before, the coat will protect you in the corridors. You have nothing to fear as long as you wear it."

She struggled a little, and glared at him. "Kitten Eyes," she said deliberately, making him sigh internally, "you only have one coat."

This was so irritating. ...Would be, if he had a heart. "We have been through this before. One unprotected trip won't kill me, and I have much less to lose than you. Do as I say and put the coat on."

"I'll tell Axel and Demyx and Xigbar all my nicknames for you."

He held onto the coat just a few seconds longer and glared as haughtily as he could, just to make a point. Then he reluctantly let go. She jerked the coat off and flung it back around him, then crossed her arms and grinned triumphantly.

"I hope you realize that you've just closed off our only escape." He dismissed the portal.

"I care about what happens to you, you know."

"I can't imagine why."

"Hmmmm, let me think, why in the _world_ would I waste two seconds worrying about the man who's saved my life multiple times by now, has dedicated the past two weeks to getting me safely back home, who nearly drowned himself to rescue Rajah, and who is so incredibly fun to tease-"

"It's a job. Nothing more." He was not sure what to say about the teasing part, so he ignored it.

"Uh huh. That's why you gave me this back in the Dwarf Woodlands, right?" She tugged the flower out of her hair and twirled it meaningfully.

"You're reading too much into that."

"All right, fine, you hate me."

"I can't hate you. I can't lo- like you. I don't have a heart to feel anything with, therefore what I feel for you is complete neutrality. _Obviously_."

She gazed at him for a long time, then finally said, "I think you believe too many things without questioning them, Saïx."

"You seem to believe that a lot of things are true just because you wish them to be." He summoned a few Berserkers, idly noting the way Jasmine shifted farther behind him. "They are under my complete control and will not harm you." To his lesser Nobodies, he commanded, "Find Axel and the others, tell their servants where we are and that we are in need of assistance." The creatures stumbled into the dark corridors again.

Well, there was nothing to do now but wait. Saïx went to sit against one of those fluffily unyielding walls and opened his backpack to sort through the items and panels inside, having nothing better to do. It should not have been surprising when the princess settled down next to him, rather close.

They were silent for a long time. Then the walls shifted from the warmer reddish tones down into blue and purple, and the music dropped into a lower scale. He took the Blizzard Shard out, letting his hair fall back down around his neck.

She was shivering. Well, of course she would be, in that ridiculous desert getup of hers. Repressing a sigh, he shrugged out of his still-unzipped coat, and this time she did not protest when he wrapped it around her.

"Thank you, Kitten," she murmured, pulling the coat close around herself and snuggling into his shoulder.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that."

"I've lost count," she said mischievously.

The only good thing was that she had at least never called him strange things in front of the other Organization members. "Maybe if I feed you, you'll stop pestering me." He handed over one of the protein bars he often took on field missions.

"You're so sweet, looking out for me." She knew what plastic was by now, but still had trouble opening it. He took the bar away from her, tore open and peeled off the wrapping, then handed it back.

"You need to eat more, anyway," he said in disapproval, surveying her dangerously narrow waist.

"It's rude to stare at a lady's bare flesh like that," she said, though she sounded more amused than offended.

"Is it?" Not that he would know. He hadn't really had any experience with girls before losing his heart. "That argument is not very convincing when you prance around in an outfit that barely covers your top." He reached to zip up the coat over the smooth, dark skin under discussion. The way she watched him do it was a little disconcerting. ...Would have been, if he was still capable of being disconcerted.

"Ahh, so you _have_ been looking."

"What?"

"There's a lot going on under your icy blank shell, isn't there."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Your face barely changes, you know. Your voice, too. But I think that's just what you do to hide...as I've discovered over the past few weeks, there's so much more underneath."

"I don't hide."

"Of course you hide. I've never seen the real Isa. Only glimpses of him."

He felt cold as he stared at her, and it wasn't from the chill of the blue notes. "...Where did you learn that name?"

"I was reading your diary the other night," she said casually. "You wrote this one cute entry about how you and your best friend used to-"

"You read my _what_?"

"I was bored. You won't talk to me when you're on guard duty, and I couldn't sleep."

"You _read_ my- They're called Secret Reports, by the way, not 'diaries.'"

"It's the same thing, isn't it?"

He could not think of an argument against that. "Don't touch my things without permission."

"You have soooo many rules, Kitten, it's _so_ hard for a girl to keep them all straight." She had finished eating and was now, slowly and deliberately, licking the residual chocolate off her fingers.

It bothered him, forget not having a heart. "Here." He didn't have napkins, but he did have some cleaning cloths for Lunatic. He pulled out a fresh one and took her hands to wipe them. He was so focused on his task that he didn't notice her shifting closer, and was not-startled again to look up and find her leaning rather far into his personal space.

"Thank you," she finally murmured.

"...You're welcome." Not-nervous. Only name for this sensation, since of course he _couldn't_ be nervous. Why was she so close? He was just lifting a hand to push her away when she delicately set her fingertips against his face, thumb resting on his lip, and he forgot to move again. "Have you ever been kissed, Mr. Luna Diviner?"

"...No." Must get control of situation, was rapidly spiraling out of hand. "And I don't see what that has anything to do with-"

She tasted like chocolate. He felt wrapped in her light, sweet scent...those were the best parts. _'What would this be like if I was still Isa?'_ he found himself wondering. Uselessly. All this was so useless. _'Don't do this to me. It's not worth it.'_

She finally pulled back. Not very far. Kept gazing at him, fingers in his hair.

_'She is very attractive. I'll give her that.'_ He closed his eyes and turned his face away, leaned back, and released a long sigh.

"It was _that_ bad?" she exclaimed in disbelief, offended and jerking away. Even with his eyes closed, he managed to keep hold of her wrist. He didn't want to lose her entirely, after all.

He opened his eyes again and spoke vaguely into the distance. "You would think I'd have more of a reaction to being kissed by the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

There was a long silence. She slipped over to sit on his other side, where he was looking, and their eyes met again. His hand ended up resting against her waist, she held it there softly. "You at least think I'm beautiful?"

"It would be a lie to deny it."

"But you didn't like kissing me."

"...I wish I did," he confessed quietly.

She finally smiled. "Coming from you, Saïx, that means a lot."

"If I had a heart, I would-"

"You say that so _very_ much. Are you sure you aren't trying to convince yourself of something?"

"There are a lot of things you say often, too. Consider whether it's yourself you're trying to convince."

"...Hold me, at least," she said, finally giving up for the time being. "I'm still cold."

He couldn't see the harm in that. "Just until the colors change again."

"Mm."

When Axel and Demyx finally found them, the music was once more warm and bright, yet the Princess was still resting comfortably in Number VII's arms. Saïx regretted that slip-up much less than he should have.


	3. Breeze

_**Eyes Like A Tiger's**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by Cherished Tenshi, written by Raberba girl**

**2. Breeze (rough draft)**

A/N: **Written before I remembered that Genie's totally hiding from Al & co. during Days.** orz I swear, my brain these days... (Earlier this evening, I posted a fic intended for May 17th. Today is April 17th. -.-) Maybe the consequences of my stress and sleep deprivation are starting to become evident. :ohnoes: Lesson for you kids! GET PROPER AMOUNTS OF SLEEP! 8D

o.o.o

Jasmine giggled as she poured water for Aladdin and listened to Genie's whining.

"Aww, c'mon, Al, just a _little_ breeze?"

"Thanks, but no - really, Genie, we're used to this."

"I'm surprised you're not sizzling like bacon out here," the ebullient fey being muttered, pouring sweat like a fountain to make his point, and holding up some contraption to his face with blades spinning so fast that they created a sort of private wind.

"You'd be a lot more helpful out on the east side of the wall," Aladdin tried again. "They could really use a hand over there."

"They've got hands! But you know what they haven't got, Al? You."

Aladdin couldn't help grinning. "Thanks, Genie. I like being with you, too. But-"

"But your _orders_," Jasmine finally spoke up, "by the wish of Her Royal Highness, are to go to the east side of the city and help them. Okay?" She smiled as persuasively as she could.

"SIIIIGH, well, can't resist _that_. Very well, milady! I'm off! But I shall return!" Bowing deeply in a parody that his friends did not get the reference to, and in a sudden costume they had no context for, Genie whisked away.

"Thanks, Jasmine," Aladdin said, stealing a kiss before lifting the water jar to his lips. "It's so great having him back, but he really can be a handful..."

"He's really useful, though," she mused. "Maybe we _should_ just let him fix everything with a snap of his fingers..."

"No," Aladdin said staunchly. "Last time the city got trashed, it was because of magic, so it was okay to let Genie fix it by magic. But when it's stuff that was no one's fault, we shouldn't be getting lazy and depending on him all the time... Heh, I didn't free him from one kind of slavery just to let him get roped into another."

"I wouldn't quite compare it to that," she murmured, but smiled to show she wasn't all-out opposed to him. "When do you think you'll be able to take a break again?"

"Hmm...not sure, maybe in two or three hours..."

"All right. I'll be waiting." She kissed him, and wished she could have done it longer before a couple of passing workers made catcalls and prompted them to pull away from each other in embarrassment.

"Ah! Your Highness, I-!"

"We didn't know it was you...!"

"Doesn't matter now, it's too late," she snapped, and flounced off, leaving the two workers fidgeting sheepishly.

The princess was halfway through her route when the sun suddenly seemed to darken for a moment. She instinctively dashed for cover behind a stall, and just in time, for a hulking figure came crashing down in the next second to land just where she had been standing. "M- Monster!" she managed to scream through her suddenly dry throat. This was no ordinary, run-of-the-mill Heartless that could be chased off by ordinary weapons; it would take quite a warrior to dispatch this one. These powerful Heartless did show up from time to time - they always mysteriously disappeared again within a few days, but could cause quite a lot of damage and terror in the meantime.

"Monster!" The cry was taken up, and people began to flee. One or two either brave or rash souls came rushing up to prove their worth, but as soon as they saw what they were up against, their faces paled and they backed away again.

"Jasmine!"

"I'm all right," she said quickly as Aladdin came dashing up to her.

"Did it just show up?"

"Yes- Oh, Aladdin, we've got to get it away from the houses!"

"Don't worry, I've got an idea."

"You always do," she murmured affectionately.

"Get everyone to the palace; I'll be back!" He hurled a broken plank of wood at the monster to get its attention, then leaped to the rooftops and practically flew across them, calling for Genie as he led the Heartless toward the outskirts of the city.

"Be safe!" Jasmine called after him, clutching a hand anxiously to her chest and knowing that he probably hadn't heard her. "You'd better come back to me, Aladdin..." Wasting no more time, she whirled and began urging as many people as she could towards the palace, where they would be safe.

_Crash._

Jasmine stiffened in shock, then turned around. Behind her loomed a second Heartless, identical to the first except for its inverted color scheme. "Al...addin..."

"Move," someone shouted down to her, so sternly that she dashed aside without even thinking. A huge ice crystal slammed into the creature's head and knocked it to the ground, where it kicked and flailed in a frantic attempt to right itself. "Get out of here, princess," the voice called again, with a sort of detached authority as if the speaker was well aware of the situation but had no personal interest in it.

She gaped up at him. "Saïx!" His face was hidden again in the depths of that black hood, but she knew it was him.

"Evacuate quickly. It will do no one any good if the only child of this kingdom's ruler, and one of the seven Princesses of Heart, were to get injured or killed."

"What are you doing?! Destroy it! Hurry, while it's still down!"

She could practically _sense_ the coolness of his gaze, and she clenched her fists in response. "I have no intention of fighting this Heartless. I am on reconnaissance."

"You're just going to _leave_ it here?!"

"I shall assign one of my subordinates to eliminate it tomorrow."

The Heartless finally managed to rock back to its feet.

"_Tomorrow_?!" Jasmine shrieked. "It's destroying the city NOW!"

"Which is why I highly advise you to flee immediately."

Jasmine was forced to run again as the Heartless leaped across the square and completely crushed a scaffolding nearby. "I ORDER you to destroy that thing _this minute_," she demanded in her best Princess Voice.

"No."

Her eyes narrowed. Then she turned her back on him and began to march toward the Heartless.

"What are you doing?" he said sharply.

"If you don't _do something_ about this monster in the next minute," she said icily, "then you will only have six Princesses of Heart left."

"Princess Jasmine, _get back here_," he thundered.

She ignored him, coming to a halt and stretching her arms out at her sides in a sacrificial gesture, resolute despite her pounding heart. The monster turned around, its glowing yellow eyes fixed on her. _'I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die...'_ The Heartless swung its arms in preparation to jump. For a panicked second, she thought of giving up this insane idea and running for her life.

Then something crashed into the Heartless, so forcefully that its aim was completely thrown off and it skidded past her. Jasmine watched in relief and amazement as Saïx swept into a battle stance and roared, brandishing an impressive blue and silver weapon. The sound sent not-entirely-unpleasant chills down her spine. "Sai-"

He seemed beyond hearing. With beast-like savagery, he began to beat the Heartless without mercy, leaping again and again to reach its head, since its armored body seemed invulnerable to even the strongest attacks. The power in each of his blows made her breathless to watch, and she rather wondered why it took so long for the Heartless to finally burst into a cloud of darkness and vanish.

There was a silent pause. Saïx finally walked forward, and the golden orbs on the ground flew towards him as if drawn by magic. He took out a bottle and started to sip, then nearly dropped it when a loud cheer burst out around them. "What...?" Then he was descended on by the people who had witnessed the battle, all eager to congratulate him and thank him and drag him off to treat him to drinks. "Get _away_ from me, I have work to do."

Jasmine giggled when someone tugged the hood back to reveal his scowling face. There was a brief falter when they saw his unsettling eyes and the prominent scars, but then off they went again, sweeping him along. "Unhand me, I said!"

It was strange how much it seemed to suit him, his unease amidst the merrymaking. Jasmine was sure he would fit more comfortably in a quieter setting. She was not surprised when he slipped off as soon as he could, and she, too, excused herself as soon as possible to follow him.

He was behind the building, ignoring the animals wandering around, focusing instead on writing something down. A dark portal was open nearby.

Jasmine went up to him, and he had not finished raising his head to acknowledge her before he was recoiling from the kiss she had touched to his cheek. "Why did you do that?" he demanded.

"A little reward for our brave hero," she cooed teasingly.

He glared at her in displeasure.

"Just a _little_ one. I am betrothed, you know, and he'll get the bigger reward," she added with a wink.

"That has nothing to do with me. I only got involved because you were being hot-headed and reckless." He paused as if something had occurred to him, then shook his head and went back to writing. She thought she heard him mutter under his breath, "I am far too used to bailing such a person out of his own trouble..."

"Are you going to leave now?"

"Yes. Thanks to you, I am now far too noticeable here, _and_ I've been significantly set behind in my work. I'll need to return to the castle to write up Number XIII's assignment for tomorrow, and adjust all the counts since they've now been so drastically altered..."

"You live in a castle?" she said, interested.

He glanced at her. His face seemed to close, and he drew up his hood before turning away from her and stalking into the portal.

"Good-bye, Kitten," she managed to call before he disappeared. _'He seems to come here fairly often. I wonder when he'll be back...?'_

o.o.o

Author's Notes: Okay, update on _Eyes Like a Tiger's_. Turns out that the Forgotten Couples challenge is actually by my friend, Cherished Tenshi. XD I would like, if I can, to undertake this challenge for the SaiJaz pairing.

There are fifty themes, and I will TRY to write one installment of a multi-chapter for each theme, though it might be difficult because A) I've never done that before (all my previous challenges have been a series of usually-unrelated one-shots), and B) the plot for this fic is ridiculous and boring and silly. *sweatdrop* Also, I'll be using the "Eyes Like a Tiger's" story on FFN and MMO to post any other random SaiJaz plunnies that won't fit in other series like _Stepsiblings_, but these installments will not be part of the challenge.

This current installment, "Breeze," is technically chapter 2 of the challenge story (the first chapter can fit the "Wave" theme, I need to edit the author's note and stuff); I'm only posting this now because it can pass as a one-shot. I REALLY want to avoid posting multi-chapters until I've finished their rough drafts. I make things a lot harder on myself whenever I try to post an incomplete story. *wince*

Progress on this challenge will probably be really slow, since I've got a ton of higher priority projects in the works right now. :/ Chapter 3, "What?", is when the main plotline should start; these first two chapters were just to give Sai & Jaz a bit of history together before things start going crazy. XD

**Oh, and before we get too far, let me state right now that the SaiJaz in the ELAT challenge story is not going to be romance.** ("In Music" was not a proper installment of the challenge; for those of you who read _Stepsiblings_, it's like an "AU" from the main plot.) Jasmine is going to stay with Aladdin, and Sai is never going to fall in love with anyone; though for the non-challenge installments, there might (_might_) be either mutual or one-sided SaiJaz romance. Or not. I like platonic love. XD

**And yes, I do realize that I'm a super-confusing author, and I apologize a lot. orz**

*random journal time* Man, I worked on Urgent Thing almost all day today in-between taking care of my neighbor's kids, and I _still_ didn't get it done. -.- I wanna finish it already so that I can get the rest of my life in order and come back off semi-hiatus! *flail* I need more tiiiime, but I also need to work because I need moneeeeyy, and why does my life seem to be a series of vicious cycles? *headdeskdesk*


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